Then, upstairs our master bathroom is basically the parrot's room. I built a large stand from tree branches and hang some toys and a rope ring from it. She loves playing in front of the bathroom mirror.
Having a flighted bird can be annoying at times--mine loves to play "chase me around the house" at times--but I think it's essential to the bird's state of mind. Caged birds that never fly can literally go insane. My vet (author of the book "Holistic Care for Birds") is a strong supporter of letting your bird fly, despite the possible hazards that entails.
Honestly, my bird would like more social attention than she gets, but there's only so much of me to go around. My wife and daughter don't handle her for fear of getting bitten.
One recommendation: there's a DVD called "Captive Foraging" which has a lot of ideas for giving parrots foraging-type problems to solve. Even buying shelled nuts (unsalted of course) gives them something interesting to do.
I don't blame them. Getting bitten by a parrot hurts like a MF'er.
When our bird was young my wife used to make food puzzles that he would play with to get treats. I need to start doing that again, hopefully the DVD will give me more ideas.
Also how did you birdproof your house so he can fly around freely?
I let the bird fly all over the house but I pay attention to him: if he is in a grumpy mood he might chew on something he shouldn't. If he does behave badly, he likes witnesses to his transgressions.
He does not fly that often because he does crash occasionally and doesn't like that, but when he is zooming through the house at high speed he is impressive. He often prefers to grip my hand with his feet and 'fly in place.'
As for bird-proofing your house, unfortunately you really can't. Parrots chew through soft woods (e.g. pine trim) quickly. In my case, I only allow my bird free flight in certain parts of the house. I've put clear plastic bumpers--the kind of thing you can put on wall corners--which prevents her from destroying the trim on my door jambs. In other cases, e.g. the trim around my bathroom mirror, I've just given up.
Also, keep in mind that parrots are burrowing creatures, so if you give them other stuff to burrow into (aka chew/destroy), then they won't destroy your house as much. My parrot burrows into cardboard boxes that I give her. Think of it like providing a scratching post for a cat.
You are right about birds being able adapt to new owners. We got our bird as a baby and he was my wife's pet. After a few years she decided that she could not deal with his occasional biting. When she announced she was going to get rid of him, I wanted him, even though I rarely handled him before. My wife now has no physical contact except scratching his head through his cage bars, and I am the one who plays with him. I work with him on my shoulder.